Rick Perry's entry is no surprise; his skill will be  to some

CORPUS CHRISTI - On Saturday, Gov. Rick Perry acknowledged what many Texans have known for two years at least — that he's running for president. To buy into the notion that he finally gave in to the urging of his legions of supporters (especially his wife), or heeded a call from a higher power, requires a suspension of reality that would overtax the truest of his believers. And Perry doesn't like to tax.

It has been pointed out that now Perry is in for some serious scrutiny — the inferences being that it hasn't already happened here in Texas and that he might not hold up to it. Yes, he will face scrutiny and, yes, flaws, failures and contradictions will be found. Already the national press has noted that the Texas job creation he touts is primarily low-wage. Texans will remember and the nation may learn of his Trans-Texas Corridor toll-road debacle. Enterprising investigative journalists might enjoy poking into the lack of accountability for the Texas Tomorrow Fund he controls and no doubt they will point out the correlation between receiving an investment from the fund and being a Perry donor.

We'll boil down this incomplete list of warts to one contradictory thematic: Perry the private-enterprise/limited-government champion is a career politician who has cashed a government paycheck pretty much all of his adult life.

But we could — and the national news media should — pick apart every presidential candidate and point out reasons not to vote for him or her. The question remains: Can Perry stand up to it?

Only he can answer it, but if past behavior is an indicator, all who doubt him are in for a surprise. Our own experience says he deserves much scrutiny and criticism and that the possibility of him as the Republican nominee — and as president — is real.

Doubters should ask Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Last year, she looked like the gubernatorial candidate to end his career — on paper, until he wadded her up in the primary. He out-campaigned her and — this is the hard part for critics including ourselves to accept — outsmarted her.

He has never lost an election. Luck is among the reasons. Dumb luck is not. He has an instinct for knowing voters' hearts and minds before they and his opponents do.

He's a scripted candidate who refused to debate his Democratic gubernatorial challenger and wouldn't meet with newspaper editorial boards. Those who interpret that as an inability to think on his feet, veer from his script or win a debate should prepare for a surprise.

Perry already surprised the national media by attracting 30,000 people to his Aug. 6 prayer meeting in Houston. The media predictions were less than a third of that. What before was deemed a foolish gamble that would fail became, in hindsight, a bold stroke and a success.

Throwing in with the extremely evangelical Christian element appears now to be an inspired move to win the nomination that could turn into a liability in a general election. That's a logical viewpoint. It might be more logical to entertain the possibility that Perry has figured out something that logical viewpoint-holders don't know. Those 30,000 participants aren't 30,000 maybes and they aren't just votes. They'll be 30,000 zealous volunteers. They may not outnumber those who disagree with them but Perry probably has calculated that, on Election Day, they will.

Those — we — who suspect cynicism in Perry's courting of the evangelicals can't deny that he has proved to them that they can count on him. He doesn't just know the right verses. The sonogram bill he proposed is now state law. They actually can trust him — and how many politicians can claim that, truthfully?

His biggest liability may appear to be the country's most recent experience with an ex-Texas governor as president. Or, that might prove as big an obstacle as was the name George Bush to the second one's election.

We won't address yet whether Perry would make a good president, other than to say we have been displeased with how he governs Texas. But he makes an excellent presidential candidate, as the other Republican candidates and perhaps President Barack Obama will find out.